The blockchain technology, also referred to as a distributed ledger technology, is a distributed Internet database technology. A network constructed based on the blockchain technology can be referred to as a blockchain network. The blockchain network includes network nodes (which can also be referred to as blockchain nodes, and are referred to as nodes for short below). Each node corresponds to at least one blockchain, and each blockchain includes at least one block. The blockchain network (or the blockchain technology) features decentralization, transparency, temper resistance, and trustworthiness. Based on these features, the blockchain technology is applied in more and more fields.
The process of recording service data into a blockchain (that is, storing service data in a blockchain network) includes the following three phases: a handling phase, a consensus phase, and a storage phase. The handling phase can be understood as follows: A certain blockchain node in the blockchain network receives service data to be recorded into a blockchain, and the blockchain node handles the service data. The consensus phase can be understood as follows: After the blockchain node handles the service data, another blockchain node in the blockchain network needs to participate in consensus processing on the service data. The storage phase begins after a consensus is reached on the service data. The storage phase can be understood as follows: The blockchain node records the service data that a consensus is reached on into the blockchain.
Among the three phases included in the process of recording service data into a blockchain, the consensus phase needs participation of another blockchain node in the blockchain network. The research found that when consensus processing is being performed on service data, the duration of the consensus processing is lengthened as more blockchain nodes participate in the consensus processing. Consequently, the efficiency of the consensus processing performed on the service data is reduced.